I as a fabricator and a cheapskate, I wanted to run an idea by the board.
I want to improve the anti-sway characteristics of my daily driver with out spend big bucks on a new sway bar, here is an idea:
In order for a sway bar to work, it has to be attached to the lower control arms of the vehicle, and sometimes also to the frame at the pivot points. Most front sway bars have some form of end link that attaches the bar to the control arms. Stock factory type end links usually consist of a long, thin bolt, with washers and bushings where the bolt passes through the bar and the lower control arm.
Non-performance vehicles often use soft rubber bushings in the end links, but these offer very little resistance to bar movement. With rubber end link bushings, the bar lever ends can move up to 1" or more before actually transferring the full force of the bar to the control arm. Performance vehicles substitute urethane bushings in the end links which offer more resistance than soft rubber, and allow less bar movement before transferring the load to the control arm. However even urethane end link bushings give way, and make the bar much less effective than if it were solidly attached.
The best setup by far is to have a solid attachment to the control arm, which instantly transfers the force of the bar. Unfortunately one cannot normally bolt the bar directly to the control arms, because the suspension is independent, and allows more movement than a solid mount would allow.
To solve this problem, make a bar to use special end links made from tie rods which directly attach the bar to the control arms, but also allow for full suspension movement. Tie rods are completely quiet in operation like the stock type end link, but they are MUCH stronger and instantly transfer the bar force to the control arm. They can handle loads far greater than the stock thin bolt end links used in the stock front sway bar, and make any bar much more effective in operation as they take the bushings out of the equation.
Something like this:
![]()
What do you think? Have you seen one?
I want to improve the anti-sway characteristics of my daily driver with out spend big bucks on a new sway bar, here is an idea:
In order for a sway bar to work, it has to be attached to the lower control arms of the vehicle, and sometimes also to the frame at the pivot points. Most front sway bars have some form of end link that attaches the bar to the control arms. Stock factory type end links usually consist of a long, thin bolt, with washers and bushings where the bolt passes through the bar and the lower control arm.
Non-performance vehicles often use soft rubber bushings in the end links, but these offer very little resistance to bar movement. With rubber end link bushings, the bar lever ends can move up to 1" or more before actually transferring the full force of the bar to the control arm. Performance vehicles substitute urethane bushings in the end links which offer more resistance than soft rubber, and allow less bar movement before transferring the load to the control arm. However even urethane end link bushings give way, and make the bar much less effective than if it were solidly attached.
The best setup by far is to have a solid attachment to the control arm, which instantly transfers the force of the bar. Unfortunately one cannot normally bolt the bar directly to the control arms, because the suspension is independent, and allows more movement than a solid mount would allow.
To solve this problem, make a bar to use special end links made from tie rods which directly attach the bar to the control arms, but also allow for full suspension movement. Tie rods are completely quiet in operation like the stock type end link, but they are MUCH stronger and instantly transfer the bar force to the control arm. They can handle loads far greater than the stock thin bolt end links used in the stock front sway bar, and make any bar much more effective in operation as they take the bushings out of the equation.
Something like this:
What do you think? Have you seen one?
